The Photography Of Robert Leon; A Passion For People Page 2

These days, Leon calls the shots. He chooses a place he'd like to visit,
then contacts editors and/or clients to see if they need images or stories from
that locale. "It works out really well," Leon says. "I can
work on my projects and work for clients simultaneously. When I travel, sometimes
I don't have any plans, while other times I have very detailed itineraries.
I go and see what happens; and I have my camera with me to capture those moments."

Essential Equipment
"I'm shooting a lot of digital now except if I go to a place where
there is no electricity or Internet café," Leon says. He only brings
the essential gear he'll need so he can better concentrate on the situation
at hand. "I don't let equipment change the way I photograph something.
I don't need a lot of camera gear because the subject/location/story is
what's interesting, and I like to show it as it is."

Leon carries a Lowepro Orion AW camera backpack with a small tripod strapped
underneath. He has a Nikon F3HP and a Nikomat FTN, "which I love because
I can shoot in very difficult conditions without batteries. I always shoot manual
exposure/focus with my Nikons. I've never had a problem in hot deserts
or humid jungles. While on assignment for an Italian magazine in Istanbul, Turkey,
I shot in a hamam (steam bath) with my Nikon F3. Even totally drenched in moisture
it worked!"

Leon also owns a bevy of lenses, including a Nikkor 20mm, Nikkor 24mm, Nikkor
35mm f/2, Nikkor 50mm, Nikkor 105mm Micro, and an Angenieux 180mm f/2.3. "I
very rarely use the Nikkor 300mm f/2.8 because it's too big and I like
to be close to the people I photograph. I usually use 24mm, 35mm, and 50mm."
Leon also uses a Minolta Spotmeter F light meter and Minolta III Color Temperature
Meter. When shooting film, he prefers Fujichrome Velvia, Fujichrome Provia 100F,
Fujichrome Provia 400, Astia 100, Kodak Tri-X, Kodak Plus-X, and Ilford XP2.

These
Garifuna children, in Livingston, District of Izabal, Guatemala,
are more than happy to share a few smiles with Robert Leon.

A People Person
People often ask Leon how he manages to take such natural-looking portraits--especially
of people he barely knows. "It's not something I think about or
plan; I talk to people, ask them their name, where they're from. I'm
just curious." But perhaps the real reason Leon takes such intimate portraits
of strangers is, by the time he photographs them, they are no longer strangers.
Leon's secret for successful portraits is spending real time--often
several days--with his subjects while he photographs them.

"You never really know who a person is," Leon adds. "Each
situation leads to another and it goes on and on, and there's a story.
You have to be super versatile and adaptable and go with the flow. I've
learned a lot on the road traveling," Leon concludes. "It's
the best school. You learn about so many things--not just about other people--but
also about yourself."

Robert Leon is currently working on a book about Guatemala and is also planning
to visit Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Laos, and Myanmar, among other places.
For more information and to view additional images, visit www.robertleon.com.